"When the Giants Come to Town..." is my blog intended to chronicle my thoughts on San Francisco Giants baseball. My special interest is in prospects and the farm system, but of course, will comment on all aspects of the San Francisco Giants. I will also comment on baseball in general, particularly from a fantasy baseball perspective. I hope you will find the site informative, and invite you to join in the discussion.

Thursday, July 31, 2014

The Trade Deadline came and went today without the Giants making any additional trades beyond the acquisition of Jake Peavy last week. Rumors had an imminent deal for Emilio Bonifacio from the Cubs. We do not know what the asking price was, but he ultimately was traded to the Braves for a pretty good catching prospect. The Giants were not really involved in any other rumors and the beat writers were warning against expecting any major trades.

Brian Sabean commented that the available talent was not enough upgrade to justify the asking price. We will never know exactly what the asking price was, so we will have to trust Sabes on that one. Just remember that Bonifacio hit .214 in May, .189 in June, .245 since the first of May and missed most of June and July with an injury. He was not a clear upgrade on anything the Giants already have and he cost a pretty good catching prospect.

Asdrubal Cabrera was another 2B possibility who got traded on Deadline Day and he cost a pretty good SS prospect with some MLB experience. I don't know about you, but in my book, Asdrubal Cabrera was not going to alter the balance of power in the NL West.

Stephen Drew got traded to the Yankees in a really weird trade for Kelly Johnson. Martin Prado was traded, but out of the NL West, by the D'Backs.

There were two 2B who I thought could be worth paying a significant price for because they would be a significant upgrade on the rookie, Joe Panik or the other rookie, Ehire Adrianza, which is what the Giants are looking at right now: Dan Murphy or Ben Zobrist. Again, we don't know what the asking price was for those two, or even if they were available. From the prices paid for Bonifacio and Cabrera, it's not hard the imagine that the asking price was indeed steep.

Assuming at least one of them was available for the right price, I would have pulled the trigger on just about any trade with the possible exception of Kyle Crick, who the Giants would be selling low on if they traded him for either player. The Giants do not have any elite prospects in their system, with the possible exception of Crick, but the next level of talent is quite deep. They could afford to lose 2-3 of the non-Cricky prospects and it would still be a deep system. If Sabes could have landed either Murphy or Zobrist for as much as 2-3 of those, I would have been A-OK with it. We will never know if he could have.

With the understanding that the Trade Deadline is really no deadline at all when you factor in waiver trades which are allowed after the deadline, I am also OK with stopping with the Jake Peavy trade and going with what they have. This team had the best record in baseball over the first 3 months of the season. The schedule is not particularly friendly the rest of the way, but I believe the team is capable of playing much better ball over the next two months with what they have, at least if Pagan and Belt are going to be back soon, and it appears they will be.

As for 2B, I'd like to see Sabes and Bochy put their faith in Joe Panik and commit to him as the starting 2B the rest of the way, for better or worse. If he absolutely tanks, Adrianza had hit over .300 in his last 10 games before his injury. Let him play when he comes off the DL.

I do have a couple of concerns with the way Sabes has handled this deadline:

1. I disagree with the way he has publicly tied his aggressiveness, or lack of same, in the trade market with the recent performance of the team. If he thinks trading away prospects for a veteran or two is throwing good money after bad, he should keep it to himself. To tie it to the recent performance of the team, then to do nothing is sending a message to the players that he does not believe in them and has the potential to further demoralize them at at time when they need a boost of confidence. Even today, he was musing to the media about not liking the feel of the recent homestand. I don't think anybody liked the feel of it, but I would have preferred that Sabes simply say, "you know, there was nothing on the market that I believe was enough of an upgrade on the guys we have to justify the cost. We're still in this race despite the recent losing and I believe we can get it done without a trade. Instead, it looked like the old thin-skinned Sabes getting defensive about his non-activity and throwing his own players under the bus in defending it.

2. The shuffling of prospects in and out has become almost comical. It seems directionless and based on yesterday's minor league boxscores rather than any development plan for the prospects. It's trying to catch lightning in a bottle and trying with a different bottle every day! I mean, the Uggla promotion was ridiculous. I would have preferred that Abreu get the PT, but Abreu was up for just a few days and got a total of 4 PA's. Now it's Matt Duffy and Jarrett Parker, both guys who I like, but you have to wonder what the plan is for either of them. Does this mean Panik gets less PT or is Crawford going to lose PT at SS? I guess Matt Duffy will be the back up at both SS and 2B and Parker could conceivably be the regular CF. We'll see how much PT either of them get. At this point, I just want them to make a commitment to somebody, for better or worse, and stick with it.

Of the two raw hard throwers, Gardeck and Johnson, Johnson seems to have made more progress in refining his game and cutting down on the BB's. Blake Miller and Mitch Delfino don't get a lot of attention in discussions of top Giants prospects, but I could see one or both going to Richmond next year and doing the Matt Duffy.

Low A Augusta Greenjackets were idle.

Short Season Salem-Keizer Volcanoes topped the Tri-Cities Dust Devils 8-7:

Not sure why Ortiz is still playing in rookie ball. Mercedes has an intriguing profile. 6'3", 185 lbs and playing SS, but this is his 3'rd season in Arizona after 2 in the DSL and he's 22 yo. This was, by far, Dylan Brooks best game as a pro. Something of a breakout for him. Encouraging first 2 appearances for the two top 10 round draftees Webb and Woods.

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Tim Lincecum got tagged for 5 runs in just 3.1 IP, but the offense produced some runs and the bullpen shut it down for the final 5.2 innings. Key Lines:

Brandon Crawford- 1 for 3, 2 BB, E(16). BA= .234. I like Crawford in the 2 hole. He sees a lot of pitches, can pull the ball through the hole when there is a runner on first, or he can take an opposite field approach on a hit and run. 16 errors by this point in the season is a lot, even for a SS.

Joe Panik- 1 for 4, BB. BA= .214. It doesn't look like much, but is sure beats what we were getting from Uggla. Panik scored a run and drove one in so his contribution was the difference in the game!

Gregor Blanco- 3 for 3, HBP. BA= .245. I think it is safe to say that Blanco is more comfortable hitting down in the lineup.

Andrew Susac- 1 for 4. BA= .125. Susac's second game in a row behind the plate. Once again, Buster Posey is not Tim Lincecum's catcher. Not sure if Susac's inexperience or Timmy's comfort with Hector Sanchez had anything to do with Lincecum's subpar start.

Bullpen- 5.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K's. The bullpen shut it down! This bullpen can definitely win a game for you that appears to be lost.

The Win put the Giants up by 0.5 games on the Pirates and Cardinals for the second Wild Card playoff spot and 0.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves for the first WC spot pending the outcome of the Braves game with the Dodgers. The Giants also now trail the Dodgers by 2.5 games in the NL West pending the outcome of the Dodger's game with a Braves.

The Giants now get a day off before starting a 10 game road trip with Ryan Vogelsong facing Jonathan Niese of the Mets on Friday night. That will be after the non-waiver trade deadline has passed.

The Giants made a roster move today optioning Tyler Colvin(I didn't know he had an option) to Fresno. Earlier in the day, they were rumored to have released Dan Uggla, but no official move has been made as of this post. They will need a roster spot soon for Brandon Belt, but you have to think this move and the rumored release of Uggla are tied to possible deadline trades.

The Giants also released Dan Runzler so he could sign a contract in Japan.

Fargas started off hot, then slumped, but is now hitting .361 over his last 10 games. I hadn't noticed that Ryder Jones was transferred to S-K from Augusta. Reports are that the everyday grind of professional baseball wore him down.

Carbonell needs to hit, pure and simple. If he does, the sky is the limit. If he doesn't, he's a pumpkin. Rayan Hernandez seems to be getting just a bit of traction on his pro career and is getting longer stints on the mound.

Tim Hudson got bitten by the longball early, but settled down to pitch a QS. The Giants offense sputtered against Francisco Liriano and they went down to their 6'th consecutive loss. Key Lines:

Buster Posey= 3 for 4. BA= .283. 3 singles out of the 3 hole, but the #1, #2 and #4 went a combined 1 for 12.

Michael Morse= 1 for 4, HR(15). BA= .272. A welcome dinger from Morse who now has 2 in something like his last 100 AB's. He K'd in this other 3 AB's, though.

Tim Hudson- 7 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 2 K's, GO/AO= 11/4. ERA= 2.71. Huddy gave up both dingers and all 3 of his runs in the first 2 innings. His overall line was good enough that he should not have lost with average offensive support behind him.

Dan Uggla- 0 for 3, 2 K's. BA= .149. In 4 games as a Giant, Uggla is now 0 for 11 with 1 BB and 6 K's.

The Loss was the Giants 6'th in a row, 5 of them at home, and dropped them 3 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West. The Loss also dropped them into a tie for 3'rd place in the Wild Card race with the Cardinals, 0.5 games behind these same Pirates.

Tim Lincecum tries to stave off another sweep and break the losing streak in an afternoon game facing RHP Charlie Morton.

With less than 48 hours to go until the trading deadline, how do you think Sabes is feeling about investing prospects and more money in this team?

There seems to be several legitimate prospects on this DSL Giants team including Edie, Beltre(who has not appeared for about a month or more), Medrano, Geraldo, Bolivar, and RHP Concepcion and LHP Prebito Reyes. Mecky Coronado is someone to watch too, but hard to figure out exactly what he is.

This game was probably over by the time Madison Bumgarner loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the first inning. The Pirates cashed them all in plus another for good measure. The offense sputtered against Clayton…..er Vance Worley and the Giants lost their 5'th game in a row, once again doing a faceplant at home after an encouraging road trip. Key Lines:

Madison Bumgarner- 4 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 3.41. Not much to say about this. 2 walks, 3 singles and 2 SF's in the first, a dinger in the second inning, just a bad first 2 innings. With the way the Giants offense is hitting, game over!

Vance Worley- 9 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 2.54. Worley had been pitching well going into this one but not THAT well. When you seen lines like this against a guy like him, you have to think the offense is struggling, or maybe they are NOT struggling!

The Loss left the Giants a full 2 games behind the idle Dodgers in the NL West.

Tim Hudson tries to stop the bleeding against Francisco Liriano in game 2 tonight.

Sunday, July 27, 2014

The Giants managed to make a game of this one, but weren't quite able to get over the hump and prevent an embarrassing sweep at the hands of the Dodgers. Key Lines:

Buster Posey- 1 for 3, HR(12), BB. BA= .280. Buster's HR got the Giants within a run, but the scoring stalled out after that.

Brandon Crawford- 2 for 4. BA= .238. Crawford hung in there against the lefty with 2 outs and runners on base in the 4'th inning and drove in the second Giants run of the game.

Jake Peavy- 6 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K's. Peavy wasn't getting the close calls on the corners and he needs those at this point in his career.

Dan Uggla- 0 for 3, BB, 2 E. BA= .152. Uggla scored the first run after drawing a walk, so that was a positive. He also committed 2 errors, the second of which resolted in an unearned run to start the Dodgers scoring. In 3 games, Uggla has now contributed to 1 run for the Giants and has committed 3 errors leading to 3 unearned runs.

Pablo Sandoval- 0 for 4. BA= .275. Is it just me, or has Pablo fallen off the nutrition wagon? He is not looking at all small up there lately. I would not trade Pablo before the trade deadline, but I also would not sign a long term contract with him. Give him a QO and a 2 year deal with an option. If he can do better on the FA market, take the draft pick.

The Loss drops the Giants 1.5 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West.

The Giants stay home this week to face the Pittsburgh Pirates with Madison Bumgarner facing Vance Worley in game 1 tomorrow night.

Saturday, July 26, 2014

This game was Butt Kicking Part Deux. Ryan Vogelsong was a gamer, but the Giants lineup did not put up much of a fight against Clayton Kershaw, who, let's face it, is the best pitcher on the planet right now and it's not particularly close. Key Lines:

Dan Uggla- 0 for 3, 2 K's, E(10). BA= .156. Uggla is 0 for 5 as a Giant and has cost the team 2 more runs on defense than he has produced on offense. OK, take a deep breath here, calm down. It's just 2 games the Giants were not going to win anyway.

Clayton Kershaw- 9 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K's. ERA= 1.76. I've never quite figured out why Kershaw is do difficult to hit. I mean, yeah, he throws hard, but not THAT hard. He must hide the ball well and get tremendous movement on his pitches. Great movement plus great command will definitely win you some ballgames. At any rate, the numbers don't lie. The man is the best. A latter day Sandy Koufax, for sure.

The Loss dropped the Giants 0.5 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West.

New Giant Jake Peavy will try to continue his dominance over the Dodgers tomorrow evening in the ESPN game facing Hyun-jin Ryu.

There are 3 catchers on the Fresno roster: Quiroz, Susac and Brad Mills, who is listed at 5'8", 160 lbs. I'll guess that Quiroz gets the callup to replace Hector while Hector is on the concussion DL.

AA Erie Seawolves blanked the Richmond Flying Squirrels 2-0:

Kyle Crick(RHP)- 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 11 K's. ERA= 3.09.

A Phillies scout was rumored to be in attendance specifically to watch Cricky pitch. Did he like what he saw? All I can say is if the Giants trade Cricky, they better get something good and something for the future back.

High A Visalia Rawhide outlasted the San Jose Giants 4-2 in 12 innings:

Baseball games can be lost in an almost infinite variety of ways. There is BABIP luck, bad calls by umps(thankfully replay has diminished this as a factor), walk off wins. This game loss was a good old-fashioned butt kicking by a team that, at least on this night, was better both on paper and on the field. And let's face it folks, at least when Zack Greinke or Clayton Kershaw take the mound right now, the Dodgers are going to win most of those games, no matter what pitcher the Giants or any other team run out there to oppose them. As this game unfolded, it had a definite aura of inevitability, much like I remember Dodgers-Giants matchups from the late 70's and early 80's. Key Lines:

Triples Alley- Triples Alley was the Dodgers friend in this one as they sent missile after missile into the gap. In all 5 cases, they came into 3B standing up. The 5 triples set an AT&T Park record for most by one team in a game. They also tied a Dodgers franchise record. Yasiel Puig's 3 tied a Dodgers record for most in one game last accomplished in 1901. It's not like Blanco and Pence are slow OF's with lousy UZR's either. Every one of those triples was smoked!

Tim Lincecum- 4.2 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 0 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 3.96. On the surface, this looks like it could be a BABIP line, but this was more likely just a butt-kicking. All those triples were smoked!

Hector Sanchez- 0 for 1. BA= .196. Sanchez came out early after suffering a mild concussion on a foul tip. The Giants roster is already dangerously thinned out by injuries and this one could have the most far-reaching ripple effect. Who gets the call as the backup catcher? What happens to Buster Posey if he has to catch a bigger number of games? I'm pretty sure someone has to be dropped from the 40 man roster to add a catcher. Who will that be?

Despite the ugliness of the drubbing, the Giants remained in first place in the NL West by 0.5 games over the Dodgers.

Ryan Vogelsong makes a brave stand against Clayton Kershaw tonight in game 2 of the weekend series.

Thursday, July 24, 2014

The Phillies scored 2 unearned runs off Tim Hudson and Cole Hamels was dominating as the Giants missed an opportunity for a rare 4 game series sweep. Key LInes:

Ehire Adrianza- 1 for 3. BA= .237. Adrianza is hitting .324 over his last 10 games. Alas, he came up with an aggravation of his previous hammy injury just as he appeared to be getting comfortable as a major leaguer. Looks like another DL stint is in the works and Dan Uggla is going to get his big chance sooner rather than later.

Tim Hudson- 6 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 3.65. The first run scored after a Passed Ball that probably was not Buster Posey's fault and the second run scored after a 2 base error by Michael Morse.

Cole Hamels- 8 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 10 K's. ERA= 2.72. Hamels threw 90 of 116 pitches for strikes. Hamels is signed through 2018. 4 years is a lifetime in baseball. Phils would need to get an unbelievable haul to make it worth trading Hamels!

The Loss cost the Giants 0.5 games to the idle Dodgers. Their lead in the NL West is not 1.5 games coming into the weekend home series against the Hated Ones. Oh, and I won't get to watch it because of that durned TV contract the Dodgers have with Time-Warner Cable!

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Madison Bumgarner shut down the Phillies for 8 innings including coming back after a rain delay after the 3'rd inning and a drenching rain in the middle innings, and Hunter Pence drove in all 2 runs with a bloop double in the top of the 9'th inning as the Giants clinched a series win over the Phillies in Philadelphia. Key Lines:

Madison Bumgarner- 8 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 3.19. Bummy pitched this one in extreme conditions including a rain and lightning delay after 3 innings and a steady downpour in the middle innings after the game resumed. He came through like the champ he is outpitching a pretty darn good pitcher in AJ Burnett in the process. He saved the bullpen in the process after they had pitched a total of 15 innings in the last 2 games.

Jonathan Papelbon(Phillies)- 1 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 2 K's, HBP. ERA= 1.96. Papelbon has asked to be traded out of Philly. He's not making a case for other teams to want him as he blew the Save last night and took the loss tonight. He started the inning hitting Michael Morse. Blanco came in to pinch run. Pabelbon struck out the next two batter but Blanco stole 2B. He then walked Brandon Crawford intentionally, possibly remembering Crawford's game winning hit the night before. That brought up Hector Sanchez, of all people, to pinch hit for Bumgarner. Now, you could make a case for Bummy being a better bet in that situation than Sanchez, but Sanchez managed to draw a walk setting up Pence's bloop double down the RF line to clear the bases. Casilla made it hold up for the Save.

A very gutsy win for the Giants and it's pretty easy to see why the Phillie fans are booing. That team has NO HEART! Least of all the guy who wants out of there. If Brian Sabean was looking for evidence that this team deserves reinforcements at the trade deadline, I would say this series has provided it and 3 times over!

The Win extended the Giants lead in the NL West to 2 games over the Dodgers who lost to the Pirates 6-1.

Tim Hudson tries for the 4 game series sweep against Cole Hamels in a day game tomorrow.

Buster Posey hit a game tying HR in the top of the 9'th inning, Brandon Crawford hit a 3 run double to break the game open in the top of the 14'th and Tim Lincecum earned his first Save in the bottom of the 14'th to give the Giants a very satisfying win in front of a handful of loudly booing fans in Philadelphia. Key Lines:

Hunter Pence- 3 for 8, HR(13). BA= .305. Pence's dinger went over 450 ft and he is one of 4 players this year with more than 1 longer than 450. The others are Giancarlo, Justin Upton and Michael Morse. Oh, and he also beat out an grounder to SS in the 14'th inning when the Giants already had a 4 run lead.

Ehire Adrianza- 2 for 7, 2B. BA= .236. Adrianza entered the game in the second inning after Joe Panik twisted his ankle. Can we please see more of this kid, especially if Panik is out for awhile?

Buster Posey- 4 for 7, 2 2B, HR(11). BA= .286. Posey is on a tear and it's on a tough road trip to boot. Maybe he read those comments a few days ago criticizing his position in the lineup?

Pablo Sandoval- 2 for 6, 2B, BB. BA= .279. Prior to this game, Pabs was hitting .335/.370/.533 since May 13.

Gregor Blanco- 1 for 5, 2 BB, SB(9). BA= .233. Blanco scored 2 runs in this game. He is thriving down in the lineup and is hitting .303 over his last 10 games.

Brandon Crawford- 2 for 6, 2B, BB. BA= .239. Crawford has had some big hits in his career and he and another one in this game with a bases-loaded, bases-clearing double to break open the game in the top of the 14'th inning. He also came home with an extra insurance run on Hector's single.

Hector Sanchez- 2 for 6, BB. BA= .198. Hector has been struggling at the plate. Kruk and Kuip were saying he's developed a severe uppercut swing. Just sparing Posey the 14 innings behind the plate in this one was well worth his roster spot, though. Hector's legs were cramping up after every pitch in the 14'th.

Yusmeiro Petit- 5 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 4.24. This was not due to BABIP luck as Petit walked 2 and gave up a 2-run dinger.

Bullpen- 9 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 7 BB's, 5 K's. The bullpen has now pitched 15 innings in the last 2 games allowing just 1 run. That K/BB sure is ugly, though. Kontos gave 2.1 IP the night after going 2 innings. Tim Lincecum got the first Save of his career. Bummy is going to have to go deep tonight, though.

The Win coupled with the Dodgers 12-7 loss to the Pirates enabled the Giants to increase their NL West lead to 1 game.

Mike Krukow told the Chronicle that he has Inclusion Body Myositis, a progressive muscle weakening disorder. I have had a couple of patients with this disease and it can become extremely disabling. Kruk is a warrior, but he needs to do whatever he needs to do to avoid falls which can be deadly, especially when you are as tall as Kruk!

Around the League:

The Padres traded Chase Headley out of the NL to the Yankees. They got a nice return in prospects, but probably could have gotten more a year or two ago.

Ryan Vogelsong lasted just 3 innings while battling both a respiratory infection and the Phillies lineup, but the Giants hitters got to an obviously not quite right Cliff Lee and the bullpen shut it down for 6 innings for the Win. Key Lines:

Hunter Pence- 3 for 5, 3B, SB(9). BA= .303. Pence has been terrific in the leadoff role. Tonight was no exception.

Ehire Adrianza- 1 for 1, BB. BA= .233. Adrianza replaced Scutaro whose back tightened up. Can we please see more of this kid?

Michael Morse- 2 for 3, BB. BA= .277. Morse was the trailing runner after Sandoval scored on a Gregor Blanco single in the 2'nd inning. The ball arrived before Morse who tried to hurdle Carlos Ruiz. The problem is he hurdled the plate too. Ruiz came back and tagged him out. The Giants appealed, claiming Ruiz illegally blocked the plate, but the new rules only apply if the catcher does not have the ball and the ball clearly arrived well before Morse did. On the other hand, it was questionable whether Ruiz had control of the ball and he turned his back on Morse, clearly not attempting to tag him. In any event, the out call by the ump was upheld on replay. I would like to see the whole explanation on that one just for educational purposes, not that I necessarily think the call was wrong.

Adam Duvall- 2 for 5, HR(2). BA= .217. Duvall homered in his first game after his first callup too. Maybe they should send him down and call him up every other game! I don't think that's allowed. Anyway, I hope they keep running Duvall out there and see what happens. He's hit dingers at every level so far.

Gregor Blanco- 2 for 3, BB. BA= .233. Blanco also made a great catch in CF. He's hitting .281 over his last 10 games and is 9 for 25 over his last 8.

Ryan Vogelsong- 3 IP, 11 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 3.99. Vogey was battling a cold and the BABIP gods. He lasted just 3 innings after throwing 82 pitches. Fortunately, Cliff Lee was worse in his first game back from an extended DL stay.

Monday, July 21, 2014

The Giants have taken a lot of heat over the years for their supposed inability to transition hitting prospects to the major leagues and their mishandling of them when they get there. A lot of that has to do with the failure of players like Lance Niekro, Brett Pill, John Bowker and Fred Lewis, hitters who had their ups and downs in the minors but became fan favorites for one reason or another. The reality is they probably never had a chance and did not do any better in other organizations. The Giants have also been criticized heavily for their handling of Brandon Belt who has improved noticeably at the plate under their guidance, current injuries notwithstanding.

I have long believed that while pitching prospects are always suspect, it is mainly due to injuries, but a healthy pitching prospect generally has an easier time translating their AAA numbers to the majors than do hitting prospects. It kind of goes along with the theory that if a hitter and pitcher have never faced each other before, the advantage belongs to the pitcher. It also very much goes along with the notion that if a hitter has a hole in his swing, MLB advance scouts will sniff it out almost immediately and even average MLB pitchers are good enough to wear it out. Those holes often go undetected in the minors.

I came across a note in Rotoworld today about the struggles of Gregory Polanco, a highly touted hitting prospect for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who is being held out of today's lineup due to his recent hitting struggles. Polanco has an overall OPS of .655 since his callup, which is not terrible, but he just went 0 for 5 with 2 K's yesterday and is hitting just .194 with a .533 OPS in July. Seems that those darn advance scouts have found that hole in his swing!

That got me to thinking. What of the other highly touted hitting prospects to come up this season? It seems to me most, if not all of them have struggled in similar fashion to Polanco. Let's take a look at some who come to mind off the top of my head:

Here's a good one! Just a couple of weeks ago, Mookie Betts of the Boston Red Sox was the latest greatest thing since sliced bread. He just got send back down after hitting .235/.278/.382 in just 34 AB. Here's what Rotoworld had to say about it: "It's a shame the Red Sox didn't get Mookie Betts more of a chance. In fact, if that is all they were going to with him, they should never have brought him up in the first place." Wow! Does that sound familiar, Giants fans? I don't think Brandon Belt's initial numbers were nearly as good as Mookie Betts and they got fried for sending him back down to work on some specific things. After reading that, I can't help but think that the Red Sox must have seen something they want Betts to work on back down in the minors that will make him a better hitter next time. Does that have a ring of familiarity too?

The Red Sox did not mind losing Jacoby Ellsbury in free agency because they had Jackie Bradley ready to take over in CF. How has that gone? .231/.309/.313 and a big part of why the Red Sox have struggled this season.

Oscar Tavaras of the Cardinals, the organization which does everything right? He's started just 2 of the Cardinals last 6 games and Rotoworld is not thrilled about that either, saying Mike Matheny apparently prefers that boring veteran, Allen Craig who is not doing too well himself. Oh yeah, Tavaras is hitting .190/.226/.266 and has not hit another HR since his first game against the Giants. Remember that?

Another guy who was going to set the world on fire in that wonderful organization in Boston was Xander Bogaerts. He's the guy who made Stephen Drew expendable. He's hitting just .234/.310/.353 and another reason why the Sox are struggling.

George Springer is a success story, right? He hit .294 with 10 HR's in May but has seen his numbers slip to .227 in June and .160 in July.

The next time you are tempted to criticize the Giants for their handling of hitting prospects, remember their successes with Posey, Sandoval, Belt and Crawford and lesser success with Hector Sanchez. Think also about the above-mentioned prospects from other organizations with much better reputations for developing hitters. Graduating a hitting prospect is just darn hard, that's all!

Huge game for Kelby Tomlinson! He was already having a very interesting season and it just keeps building. And he and Matt Duffy are forming quite the Keystone Combination, aren't they? Tomlinson's K and BB rates are solid at 15% and 10% respectively. While he won't stay this hot forever, the season long numbers look sustainable. I guess the one thing to pick on is his almost total lack of power, something Matt Duffy seems to have just enough of.

A Wild Pitch in the 7'th inning by Tim Lincecum was the difference in this game as the Giants failed to complete a sweep of the Marlins in Miami. Key Lines:

Hunter Pence- 2 for 4. BA= .299. The top 3 batters got 5 of the Giants 6 hits in this one.

Buster Posey- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .281. Buster is 6 for 16 over his last 4 games but is hitting just .237 over his last 10.

Bomb Squad- the last 4 batters in the lineup, Sanchez, Arias, Blanco and Lincecum went a combined 0 for 13. Add in Pablo's 0 for 4 and the last 6 batters went a combined 1 for 21.

Tim Lincecum- 7 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 7 K's. ERA= 3.68. Timmy continued his string of strong starts only to have it come to naught because of a WP in the 7'th. He gave up a leadoff double to Hechavarria who was then sacrificed to 3B. Tim made the gift out pay off for the Marlins when he uncorked a WP that brought Hech home. He then struck out the next 2 batters.

The Loss cost the Giants a game in their lead over the Dodgers which is now back to a percentage point after the Bad Guys edged the Cardinals 4-3.

The Giants now go to Philadelphia for a 4 game series with Ryan Vogelsong facing Cliff Lee in the opener tonight.

Crick has 2 QS in a row, He has allowed 6 runs in 27 IP over his last 5 starts for an ERA of 2.00. He has 37 K against 14 BB in that span. He still walks a few more than ideal, but I see a pitcher who is settling down and gaining maturity and consistency from start-to-start.

High A San Jose Giants outlasted the Lake Elsinore Storm 4-3 in 11 innings:

Pablo Sandoval started 2 Giants rallies and Tim Hudson had an efficient start as the Giants overcame the loss of Brandon Belt to an apparent concussion. Key Lines:

Hunter Pence- 2 for 5, 2B. BA= .297. Pence's 2 run single with 2 outs in the 4'th inning capped a 3 run rally that was the difference in the game.

Pablo Sandoval- 3 for 4, 2B. BA= .280. Sandoval started both rallies with leadoff hits. Pabs is hitting .405 over his last 10 games, .362 for the month of July and .320 since April. The Giants are in first place in the NL West. Anyone out there still want to trade him?

Brandon Belt- 1 for 1, 2B. BA= .242. Belt was hit in the face with a ball during fielding practice when a miscommunication resulted in 2 balls being thrown his way at the same time. He was evaluated before the start of the game. He started and doubled in Pabs in the 2'nd inning, then scored on a passed ball and throwing error by Jarrod Saltalamaccia. He almost got hit by that errant throw! Belt then complained of dizziness and came out of the game. He was reportedly not doing so hot on the concussion tests in the clubhouse and is expected to miss some games. It's been a tough season physically for The Baby Giraffe.

Gregor Blanco- 2 for 3, BB. BA= .230. Blanco has a game hit streak in which he is hitting .368. For some reason, he just seems to do better down in the lineup where getting on base often goes for naught. He has scored just 1 run in those 6 games with 0 RBI's.

Tim Hudson- 7.1 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 11/2. ERA= 2.78. Huddy threw just 81 pitches in the game. Bochy seems to be trying to save his starters for the Dog Days ahead so he is pulling them in the 80+ pitch range if they are deep in the game.

Sergio Romo- 0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 0 K. ERA= 5.26. Romo gave up a 2 run bomb to Giancarlo. Bochy went and got him for Casilla. As Romo was leaving the mound, Bochy called him back and said something. Bochy's explanation is he called him back to tell him he would have left him but Casilla needed work. I'm going to assume Bochy is telling the truth here, but his actions spoke much louder than his words. The game was now in a Save situation and the Closer gets the Save Opportunities. Bochy was telling both Romo and Casilla that Casilla is THE Closer.

If the Giants were looking to make a statement about the second half of the season coming out of the All-Star Break, they certainly accomplished that with a route of the Marlins, at team they have had trouble with for years, in Miami. Key Lines:

Joe Panik- 2 for 5. BA= .232. Panik is hitting .274 over his last 10 games.

Buster Posey- 3 for 4. BA= .281. Posey is hitting .232 over his last 10 games including this one.

Pablo Sandoval- 2 for 5, HR(12). BA= .274. Pabs is on a tear hitting .324 over his last 10 games and .414 over his last 7.

Michael Morse- 3 for 4, 2 2B. BA= .278. Morse's bat seemed like it has slowed down a bit before the break.

Brandon Crawford- 1 for 2, HR(8), SF. BA= .242. Crawford's was another bat that seemed to have slowed down before the break.

The Win enabled the Giants to climb back into the lead in the NL West standings by percentage points over the Dodgers who lost to the Cardinals 3-2. The Dodgers are looking like anything but world beaters right now with Puig cooled off since June 1 and Hanley Ramirez apparently chronically injured.

This could come down to which team helps themselves the most at the trade deadline.

Matt Cain reportedly has a "cranky" right elbow which explains why he was moved back in the post-All-Star rotation.

Marco Scutaro has a sore neck but was available as a PH off the bench.

The Giants have reportedly reached agreements to sign the last 3 of their 2014 top 10 draft picks including HS RHP's Logan Webb and Stetson Woods as well as Stanford OF Austin Slater. All 3 contracts are reportedly for modestly above slot. Nicely done, Giants!

Chuckie Jones is 8 for 19 over his last 4 games after an 0 for 13 dry spell over his previous 3. Elliott Blair is quietly having a breakout season. The Giants have been extremely patient with him since selecting him in the 46'th round of the 2011 draft.

Low A Augusta Greenjackets edged the Kannapolis Intimidators 3-2:

Joan Gregorio(RHP)- 5.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 7 K's. ERA= 3.24.

Short Season Salem-Keizer Volcanoes smothered the Everett Aquasox 1-0:

Some vicious intrigue going on with the Houston Astros and their #1 overall draft pick, Brady Aiken. Aiken went down to Houston expecting to sign a $6.5 M contract, but an MRI reportedly showed that he has a congenitally small UCL. Apparently there is no history of injury nor is there any evidence of injury on the MRI. His UCL is just unusually small. The 'Stros are claiming that this puts him at higher risk of future injury and thus diminishes his value and have lowered their offer to $3.1 M. Aiken's camp is, understandably crying foul and countering that there is no evidence that small UCL's carry a higher risk of injury(It should be noted that we do not know the exact nature of Aiken's alleged UCL problem. It has also been speculated that he has a partial tear).

To make matters worse, the Astros also drafted another Casey Close client, Jacob Nix who they are offering above slot money to with, get this, the money they would save by signing Aiken to the lower contract! The 'Stros are also reportedly wanting to use some of the money saved to pay Mac Marshall an over-slot bonus.

This situation begs several questions including why would the Astros want to pay $ 3.1M if they really, truly believe he's at a prohibitive risk of injury? If they don't, then why are they low-balling him? Why would Aiken want to sign a contract for any amount of money with an organization that is behaving this way if he believes he is truly healthy and not at increased risk of injury?

The Astros, who have had the last 3 #1 overall draft picks are now on the verge of possibly blowing the last 2 as last year's #1, Mark Appel, has shoulder issues and has performed abysmally and now this situation with Aiken.

RafRod has played well this year, when he's played. He's hitting .333 over his last 10 games, but there was a break of 7 days from 7/5-7/13. He's had a total of 154 AB's on the season compared to approximately 300 for most full-time players. RafRod remains an enigma. Once again, not sure what the point of keeping Ray Black in Low A is.

As you can see from the listed ages, there are several age-appropriate prospects performing quite well for the DSL Giants this year. Geraldo's name has been popping up more in the highlights lately. He is hitting .243 over his last 10 games. Gotta be excited about Mikey Edie who did not turn 17 until 7/3 and who was a ranked international prospect before signing last summer. Right now, I have him at least in the top 10 Giants prospects. Bolivar is small in size, but was a 6-figure bonus baby and is performing up to expectations. Geraldo is 6'1", 170 lbs and a switch-hitter. Gotta think there is some projectability there.

Giants got their 2'nd and 3'rd round picks, C Aramis Garcia and OF Dylan Davis signed. Now we wait to see if they can get the 2 HS pitchers from the top 10 rounds inked.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

We have not done an AQA for awhile. We'll go ahead and use the All-Star Break to try one. Give me your questions about anything baseball related. Giants, farm system, trading deadline, Around the League, whatever is on your mind. I will give you my answer. Others are welcome to chime in with their answers too.

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner created an historic day at AT&T Park by hitting grand slam home runs 1 inning apart to break open a close game and go into the All-Star Break on a winning note. Key Lines:

Pablo Sandoval- 3 for 4, BB. BA= .272. Pablo is now hitting .311/.366/.478 since April. Yeah, the Giants need to keep him if they are serious about making a run for the playoffs.

Buster Posey- 1 for 5, HR(10). BA= .275. Posey has been slumping a bit. He hit the ball hard all day long, but only one went for a hit. It was a big fly with the bases juiced, though, the very definition of a cleanup hitter.

Madison Bumgarner- 2 for 3, 2B, HR(3). BA= .275. This was the first time in MLB history that a pitcher-catcher battery hit grand slams in the same game. It was just the second time in MLB history that a pitcher has hit 2 GSHR's in one season. The first? Tony Cloninger hit 2 in one game against the Giants in 1966, a game I listened to on the radio as a 10 year old kid. it was just the 3'rd time in SF Giants history that they have hit 2 GSHR's in one game. On top of that, Bummy has become a major force at the plate and should probably be their #1 PH option off the bench when he is not the starting pitcher. They might even consider using him as the DH in interleague play!

Madison Bumgarner- 6.1 IP, 10 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 3.47. Bummy allowed just 1 run over 6 IP, then seemed to be out of gas to start the 7'th which was the inning following is dinger and which went on for several more batters after he cleared the bases.

The Win allowed the Giants to keep pace with the NL West leading Dodgers who blanked the Padres 1-0 for the second game in a row. Durn Padres!

We now get 3 days off for the All-Star Break with Hunter Pence, Madison Bumgarner and Tim Hudson representing the Giants. Bummy won't pitch due to pitching today. I don't think he would trade today for appearing in the All-Star Game!

In the Comments section of yesterday's post, I said that the season would hinge on the performance of the starting pitchers. I may have to take that back a bit after this game. You can't blame Ryan Vogelsong for the 4 losses he has accumulated in his last 4 games, not with a 2.91 ERA over the same span of game in which he has gotten no, that's right, zero run support. Vogey pitched more than well enough for a W and the bullpen did their job too. This one is entirely on an offense that generated just 7 baserunners and 0 XBH's against a good, but beatable opposing pitcher. Key Lines:

Sergio Romo- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 5.00. Romo's slider has been consistently biting in his last 2 appearances. Again, doesn't do him a lot of good if the offense is not scoring any runs.

Joaquin Arias- 1 for 3. BA= .186. OK, I get that Arias probably does need some AB's and I get that he's a RH batter facing a LH pitcher and I get that he had one of the team's 4 hits in the game. He's not somebody I feel I need to see more of as a fan! When Crawford needs a day off, and I agree he does need more of them, Ehire Adrianza should be getting every one of those starts whether it is to showcase him for a trade or to evaluate him for the future. He's as good at the plate as Arias is now with better defense at SS and he has the added value of opportunity to evaluate a guy who could have a bright future, either with the Giants or with another team.

The Giants suffered a double whammy of offensive failure as the Padres' offense did a faceplant against Paul Maholm and the Dodgers to lose 1-0. That meant the Giants drop a game behind the Dodgers in the NL West.

Madison Bumgarner tries to right his ship and finish the first half with a series win facing another guy the Giants have never seen before, LHP Vidal Nuno who the D'Backs acquired recently from the Yankees in the Brandon McCarthy trade.

Pablo Sandoval broke out of his slump to lead the offense and Tim Lincecum continued his dominant pitching to lead the Giants to the shutout victory in Game 1 of the weekend series. Key Lines:

Brandon Belt- 2 for 3, BB. BA= .242. Belt was the table-setter in this game. I especially loved him poking one through an empty left side to beat the shift in the first inning which led to the first run of the game on Sandoval's HR.

Pablo Sandoval- 3 for 4, 2B, HR(11). BA= .264. Maybe Pablo read some of the things being said about him on some Giants oriented websites, or maybe he is fully recovered from the contusion on his arm from a HBP a few games ago, or maybe it was just time in the normal ebb and flow of baseball stats. Whatever it was, Pabs showed once again that he is one of those players who can almost win a game for you all by himself which is why he is going to get paid this offseason.

Tim Lincecum- 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 3.66. Ownage? What ownage? Timmy has had a terrible time against the D'Backs in general and Paul Goldschmidt and Aaron Hill in particular, but he dominated them tonight. Timmy has allowed just 1 ER in his last 4 starts and has lowered his ERA from a peak of 5.01 reached on 6/3/2014. Maybe Timmy should be representing the Giants at the All-Star Game?

The Win put the Giants back into first place in the NL West by a percentage point over the Dodgers who lost to the Padres 6-3.

Ryan Vogelsong tries to secure a series win facing Wade Miley this afternoon.

Brian Ragira hit .304 for the month of June and is hitting .375 in 10 games in July. Chris Stratton has a 5.01 ERA over his last 10 starts, but has 63 K's against 24 BB's in 55.2 IP over that span. His overall ratios are 92 K's against 35 BB's in 87.1 IP. Gotta get the BABIP's out!

Rivera is hitting .306 over his last 10 games and I'm really liking the lines I'm seeing from this kid. Cartegena is a 20 yo former international 6-figure bonus baby who did nothing in 3 DSL seasons. Looks like a healthy rehab start for Agosta.

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Another game of poor pitching and poor hitting leading to another lopsided loss. Key Lines:

Hunter Pence- 2 for 4. BA= .304. Pence is gamely doing his job at the top of the lineup. Alas, it doesn't do a lot good go get on base if the rest of the guys don't drive you in.

Brandon Crawford- 0 for 4, 2 K's. BA= .241. Bochy must have been thinking the same way as Kuip last night that Crawford's bunt hit and followup hit meant he as over his slump. Probably not the best time to move him up to the 2 hole. The Giants think Crawford is holding his bat too high. Not sure I'm buying that. In the past, he's struggled with getting the bat up in time. Crawford may just need a day or two off?

Ehire Adrianza- 1 for 1. BA= .224. Adrianza is a guy to watch over the next 3 weeks. Bochy has said he's going to get some time at SS to give Crawford a breather. Is that another way of saying he's going to be showcased? The Nationals are reportedly specifically looking for a young SS to trade for because extension talks with Ian Desmond are not going anywhere. What could the Giants get in return? If Adrianza looks really good, could he switch places with Crawford on the trading block?

Tim Hudson- 5.1 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 3 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 2.87. Talk about a guy who needs a day off! Huddy looks gassed the last few games. He may need a turn or two in the rotation skipped.

Yusmeiro Petit- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 3.92. Petit seems to be rested and raring to go. Maybe they need to work him in as a 6'th starter to spell the regular guys for 1 turn each? Huddy in particular looks like he needs a breather.

Chase Headley broke Clayton Kershaw's scoreless streak at 41 innings with a dinger, but the Dodgers went on to win 2-1 to retake a 1 game lead on the Giants in the NL West.

The Giants now open a weekend series against the D'Backs with Tim Lincecum facing Mike Bolsinger.

Around the league:

Masahiro Tanaka, remember him? He has a partial UCL tear and will try rehab first.

The Giants offense mustered 5 runs and while Matt Cain labored his way to a QS and the bullpen shut it down over the last 3 innings. Key Lines:

Hunter Pence- 2 for 5, HR(12). BA= .302. Ideally, you would like someone else setting the table with Pence cleaning it up out of the 3 hole, but he's making the most of the current set up and led the way tonight.

Pablo Sandoval- 2 for 4. BA= .264. Pablo did not figure into the scoring, but needed this game as he was 1 for his last 16 coming in.

Joe Panik- 2 for 4. BA= .234. Every time you get to thinking Panik is in over his head, he has a game like this where he gets a couple of hits and some very nice AB's. Tonight, it was taking nasty LHP Eric O'Flaherty up the middle for a base hit to start a 2 run rally to tack on insurance runs in the bottom of the 6'th after the A's had narrowed the gap to 3-2 in the top of the inning.

Brandon Crawford- 2 for 4. BA= .244. Crawford was safe on a perfectly placed line-drive bunt past the pitcher in the 6'th. Kuiper said he thought that hit would get Crawford going out of his slump. Sure enough, next AB he lined a single to CF. We'll see if it carries on past this game.

Matt Cain- 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 4.18. Once again, Cainer looked like he had good stuff. His 2-seam FB, in particular, was 93 with a ton of movement. I don't know if it was location inconsistency or the A's hitting philosophy, but he ended up throwing 105 pitches in 6 innings, but ended up with a QS and the W as he got some run support and the bullpen shut it down in the final 3 innings.

Sergio Romo- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 5.19. I'm pretty sure I would not have used Romo in this situation, although it was probably OK with a 3 run lead and a short leash. This looks more like a Romo line than what we've mostly seen this year.

About Me

I grew up in Northern California near the Napa Valley. I got interested in baseball and the Giants by listening to Russ Hodges and Lon Simmons broadcast Giants games on KSFO. My early heros were Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal and a guy you don't always think of, Jim Ray Hart. When I got older and was in school and early career, I didn't have time to follow as closely, but I tried to look up their boxscores each day and catch an occasional game on TV. One habit I got into at an early age was looking up the stats of their minor league players in The Sporting News. That became more difficult as TSN moved away from comprehensive baseball coverage. Now, of course, technology and affluence has changed all that. The internet is teaming with farm system/minor league information as well as college and high school baseball. Satellite TV enables me to get most of the Giants games on TV. I'm married with 2 wonderful daughters, who like to watch games with me.